If you read a Fiona Riley book then you know you're in for a good one, and I must admit she hasn't failed to deliver with Bet the Farm.
Lauren and Thea are both strong characters who meet and more than a one night stand developes. I love all the additional characters old and new it really does add to the story rather than detract.

Would I recommend: Oh yes if you're looking for that hot, sexy and fantastic story

3 Stars

“Bet the Farm” is the second in Fiona Riley’s High Stakes series. This time it’s Lauren’s turn to shine in this very steamy one-night stand to forever romance.

Lauren is another realtor with Gamble and Associates and is sent to Maine to help out her boss’ friends with the sale of their farm. Before she leaves, she goes out and has a passionate night with Thea, who she meets at the Mirage.

So, this started off peachy😉 It was hot and heavy with a lot of steam and Lauren and Thea have plenty of chemistry upon meeting. My problem is that it never really got beyond this point for me. I never felt an emotional connection or any deeper relationship than their sexual one. And that’s fine for something marketed as erotica, but as this is tagged as romance, it just didn’t work for me overall.

The plot was pretty thin for the most part. Thea’s family is having to sell their farm to pay off the debt they’ve acquired. Lauren is brought in to try to come up with creative ideas on how to get the most out of the bad circumstances. Thea no longer lives on the farm; she lives in Boston but doesn’t want to see her home sold off. She complains a lot about it but she doesn’t really do anything to actually try and help. However, anytime plot related conversations would come up, they would become laden with innuendos and veer off to more steamy encounters.

As for those steamy encounters, they are varied and plentiful. I’m pretty sure I’ll never see a peach the same way again. If that’s your jam I’m sure you will enjoy this quite a bit.

The characters also didn’t do a lot for me, not they were necessarily bad but Riley didn’t go very deep with either so they felt a bit flat. Lauren is fine, I liked her in “Bet Against Me” and I thought she was cute here. Thea, on the other hand, seemed a little immature in regards to the selling of the farm. She blames Lauren for things that are out of her control which didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Then she all of sudden flips a switch and everything is okay.

I’d recommend reading other reviews. Others seemed to like it a bit more than so this could just be a me thing.

If you’re looking for a steamy, flirty pick-me-up, this is probably a good book for you. If you’re wanting something with some depth and emotion, I’d look elsewhere.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

I am a fan of Fiona Riley novels and this is no exception. It has all the ingredients for the best sort of lesbian romance comfort read and is easy to enjoy. There's Lauren who is experiencing a slump in her professional career as a real estate agent and Thea who is trying to save her family's dairy farm. A chance encounter in a bar ensues, and sparks fly. An even further chance encounter occurs when Lauren is asked to help strategize in saving the farm from developers who may want to chop the land to pieces to sell for parts. There are arguments and resolutions and I was happy to see such good examples of maturation in the process. I do think I prefer the first of this series because I found Thea harder to like that the typical main characters that Fiona Riley writes, but I can't wait to see what comes next for these characters.

This is the romance novel equivalent of comfort food. During the pandemic my wife has escaped to the predictability cozy mysteries and I have turned to lesbian romances. In such an unpredictable world, these genres offer tried and true formats that guarantee a happy ending.

Bet the Farm does not offer anything new or particularly special to the romance genre, but it is a very satisfying story that starts with a well written "one-night stand" scene.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is part of Riley’s “bet” series, and features characters from Bet Against Me. I liked this much more than the first one. This features Lauren, best friend and co-worker of Trina from book 1, Lauren is in a real estate slump and her boss Ellison gives her a task of trying to find a way to save the farm of some family friends. The other MC is Thea, whose family own said farm.

Thea and Lauren meet in a bar and have a one night stand type hook up, but really like each other, so intend to meet up again, neither realises that the other will be involved with the farm stuff, and so are surprised by this development. The blurb makes it sound like Lauren is some ruthless real estate shark out to sell Thea’s family farm at any cost, but it’s actually the opposite, she’s trying to figure out a way for them to at least be able to keep the farm.

Anyway, the two of them are super cute together and there’s lots of lovely banter, not just between the MCs but also between them and other characters. I loved all of the scenes with Thea and Lauren with Thea’s family, Thea’s best friend is also a hoot. Lauren and all of her co-workers were also a highlight, Trina from book 1 features fairly heavily, as do Ellison and Jax, but Kendall barely manages a cameo. The MCs from Media Darling also feature, and I knew how this would end the second they were mentioned. The book also features a fair amount of diversity, with POC and a trans character.

There’s the usually break up, which frankly seemed forced and made Thea seem like an ass (Lauren was far more forgiving than I would have been) and this is resolved in a conveniently wrapped up ending that provided a somewhat unrealistic ‘everyone gets what they want’ HEA (I knocked a star off this because of Thea’s behaviour and the convenient ending). I enjoyed both MCs (except for Thea’s crap at the end) and the supporting characters were entertaining and helped flesh out the story. The MCs relationship unfolded nicely and I also liked that the characters had distinctive voices, which is something other authors miss when trying to make everyone seem fun and witty.

The third book is Ellison’s and I was a bit surprised that her love interest isn’t Faith, who appears in this book and there seemed to be some pretty heavy hinting around the two of them. Ellison was fun in both of the first two entries, so I look forward to reading her story. 4 stars.

When I reviewed the first book in this series, Bet Against Me, I said it was my new favourite Fiona Riley book; well, she just blew that out the water. I'm almost too scared to say it's my new favourite because we have one more book left in the series, although I am not sure how she could top Lauren and Thea's love story. It's everything I love about Fiona's writing; flirty, fun and full of romance.
Once again, Fiona Riley aced the dialogue. It's something (other than her sex scenes) that she excels at and makes the journey just so much more enjoyable. Ok, on to the characters...

Lauren Calloway. What a woman. I was crushing so goddamn hard on her from Bet Against Me, but now I am one hundred per cent in love. Wow!

Between her kindness and the fact she was a number genius, which for me are massive turn-ons, to her sexy skirts and outrageously high heels… #swoon. Thea never stood a chance of not falling for Lauren. She is the whole delicious package and then some.
When it comes to soulmates, Thea Boudreaux was made for Lauren Calloway. Two halves of the one… peach? You'll understand that reference very soon.

Thea gave off this 'too cool for school' vibe one minute, then the next she would come out with these romantic statements, and I'd get whiplash from the complete transparency of her feelings for Lauren. Thea feels emotions in a big way, whether it be her heartbreak at the possibility of losing the farm or the way she feels for Lauren. If there was going to be someone deserving of a woman like Lauren, it's Thea. I'm totally crushing on them as a couple!

You're going to see some recurring characters from other Fiona Riley books, watch out for them. I adore when authors bring back old characters in new books. It gives these worlds a sense of community, and because we already know the characters so well, it's like catching up with old friends.

Fiona has added some new secondary characters that I absolutely loved.
But my favourite was Avni, Thea's best friend and work colleague. There's a beautiful secondary story happening with Avni, and I am hoping against hope that Fiona Riley takes that story and makes it into novella or a full-length story. Because damn… Just damn!!!

The we have Jax who was in Bet Against Me, and I was crushing on them pretty damn hard. Now I just love them even more. I could read Jax scenes all day long. I'll stand by my statement in the review for Bet Against Me. I'd have a fourth book for Jax… if anyone could pull that book off, it would be Fiona Riley. Fact!

I didn't find this book overly angsty, and I think that is possibly why I adored it so much. Yes, Lauren and Thea have some conflict to get over, but I was never worried they wouldn't make it. #Soulmates. The epilogue was like a continuation of a beautiful story and sexy enough to leave this reader excited for book three.

I love Melissa Sternenberg's narrations. She is perfect for fun and sassy characters who like to have sexy and flirty banter. Melissa and Fiona are a perfect audiobook match, honestly. I'm not sure anyone else could do justice to Fiona's words.

Fiona knocked the chemistry between Lauren and Thea out of the park… actually, forget the park; she knocked it out of the stratosphere. I will never look at any stone fruit the same way again. These sex scenes are raunchy, hot and straddle the erotica line beautifully. There is a reason Fiona Riley is known as the 'Queen of Steam'.

When will you write full-length erotica, Fiona? Your fans are dying over here!

The sexual tension and sex scenes are beyond. But Lauren and Thea genuinely have a deeper connection that I wasn't expecting to be so fierce. It caught me off guard a few times when they would show their vulnerability or how honest they were when they told each other intimate things they hadn't told anyone else. There were so many tears… so many and all from me!

So book one, Bet Against Me, was freaking amazing; the second book, Bet The Farm (this one), was outstanding… How is Fiona Riley going to top this with the final book, Beginners Bet?

Well, Firstly, I have learned never to guess where Fiona will take us with her characters. I just know I will love it. Secondly, the next book is my two favourite tropes "Coming Out" meets "Age Gap". That has sexy written all over it.

What I do know, is that you should be pouring a glass of wine, turning off your phone or calling in sick and then buying Bet The Farm (after you've read book one) immediately. Off you go! Times a-wastin'. Enjoy!

The second of this series does not disappoint. While this is book can be a standalone, you’ll be missing out on Lauren’s friends Kendall and Trina’s story in the first book. Moving on to Bet The Farm, we get to know Lauren who shares an explosive evening with Thea. The overall plot is delightful love story, but I’m knocking a star off because Thea tended to be a jackass despite her other fine qualities. An enjoyable story indeed, be sure not to miss out. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This has been a traditional romance, with each and every one of its ingredients, that will satisfy fans of these kinds of stories. In addition, for followers of this author it will not be a disappointment either. Quite the contrary. Because in addition to continuing the High Stakes Romances series, with which the protagonists of the previous books in this series, Bet against me, can also be found here the protagonists of the books Media Darling and Unlikely Match, and possibly the protagonists of some other past or future book, in a circular story of sorts.

But here the main protagonists are Thea and Lauren. Thea comes from a small town where what remains of her family still lives, since her father has already passed away. Her mother and her brother are trying to continue the dairy farm that her grandfather started, but they are having a lot of difficulties and fear they will have to sell it. Lauren is one of the realtors at Ellison Gamble's real estate agency.

It is remarkable in this story that from the first meeting between the two women there is a sexual tendency that almost does not decline in the whole story, although I do not want to reveal its content because I consider that it is the best for the story without much expectation one way or another.

Because I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this story and what has been a usual wait for the great drama, the misunderstandings and the gratuitous suffering, of the protagonists and myself when having to find there what I do not like, not here, thank you Goddesses!

What we have here is a romantic, sexual and hot story, but sweet and moving too, some very interesting and captivating characters and a story that grabs you by the uncertainty of the situation and that keeps you hopeful and smiling almost all the time.

Lauren Calloway's mojo is on the wane. She's struggling to make sales in her job as a real estate agent. Her best friend is madly in love and they never get to hang out anymore. But in a bar one night she spots Thea and they share a magical one night stand.  However Thea's family farm is in trouble and Thea leaves Boston to lend support on the farm. Much to Thea's distress it seems the only option is to sell the farm and when Lauren turns up to evaluate the potential in selling the farm Thea thinks the worst of her.
I loved this book. The characters were smart, savvy and they had loads of sizzling chemistry with hot sex scenes. The storyline was interesting and because its part of a series we get to enjoy the sub characters too. While this is the 2nd book in this series it could easily be read as a stand alone. Overall a great read.

Overall I enjoy reading Fiona Riley's books. My favorite series is still the "Fire" books. I love them so much. This is the second book in the "Bet" serious and I really had a hard time with Book One. I had a major dislike for main character Trina and I just could not get past it. I am pleased to announce that I like Bet the Farm much much better. Trina is in this book as a supporting character BUT she is toned down so am beginning to like her now (not totally there yet). I just hope that Riley brings out a book about support character Jax.

Real Estate Agent Lauren Calloway can't catch a break. She is unlucky in love and lately unlikely in real estate. She just needs a win. Thea Boudreaux grew up on a dairy farm. As soon as she got the chance she left and really didn't look back (especially after her father's death). She soon get a call from her mom that makes her return home so she can try to help save her family's legacy. Little does she know that the woman she just slept with is the Real Estate Agent who can take everything away.

I have to laugh at myself at how I just wrote that last sentence. So Thea and Lauren meet at a bar where Lauren that the rest of the Real Estate Company is celebrating Trina's win of Real Estate Agent of the year. Lauren spots Thea at the bar and the attraction is thick between the two. I really like that Thea seems so suave and self confident...but not cocky. These two make a steamy match and Riley is able to put this down on paper well. Bet the Farm has a good bit of angst. Mainly the angst come from Thea as she is having a hard time with her mother selling the farm, so when Lauren walks in she instantly gets an attitude with her. It is all very angsty! Thea does go back and forth with being upset with Lauren - hence Thea being angsty. I still like Thea even though there were times that I wanted to Throttle her (mainly at the end where the major angst is located). I did always like Lauren though. She is steady, kind, loving and thoughtful. She is just a good person who has had some bad luck. It is good to see her colleagues and friends rallying around her to help pull her out of a rut.

So I liked this way more than the first Bet, but less than the Fire series. Still give it 4.25 stars.

This arc was provided by netgalley and the publisher for an honest review.

Book 2 of the High Stakes series does not disappoint! I loved that the story started from a one-night stand and grew into a love story. I also really enjoyed the exposure to the world of real estate and also dairy farming. MC Thea is torn between her life in Boston and saving her family's legacy in rural Maine (and if Casterville is real, I want to visit!). MC Lauren, who we met in Bet Against Me, wants to make her mark in real estate by getting the best deal for the farm, but also see things from Thea's perspective. Her solution was absolute perfection, plus we got to check back in with Hayley and Emerson. I'm hoping Book 3 features Ellison and Faith!

I was kind of hoping Ms. Riley would continue from Bet Against Me and this book is it-it brings the story of Lauren Calloway to us as she meets Thea Boudreaux. Though their initial meeting was well lets just say hot but not meant to go further, they find themselves in a situation that does not help build the relationship at first.

Even though this is a book in a series, you can read this as a stand-alone, in fact I kind of enjoyed this one a bit more. With lots of humor, angst and of course steamy scenes, Lauren and Thea start to work together to save Thea's family farm. You even have a few characters from past books of Ms. Riley's so you get a chance to catch up on them. I loved how Ms. Riley would switch POV with her characters, I find that I get more of an understanding with her characters when I am reading it from their point of view.

The main character's chemistry on the pages are genuine and by the end you are cheering them on to succeed. I am looking forward to this series to continue I hope, and love a good series with tight friendships and loving support all around.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own.

To see my Amazon review, it is under CC-Great second part to the series

I will be honest I did not know what to expect when I started this book. I was so glad that I did, the story was amazing. I enjoyed the ups and downs of the story and of course all of the naughty bits too. I just have to say that Fiona Riley really delivers with this latest book. I am hoping she writes more very soon.

Lauren Calloway had an unforgettable one night stand with a stranger from a bar. Thea Boudreaux was her perfect match in the bedroom and someone Laura wanted to keep. When they met again at Thea’s family farm; where Lauren was tasked by her firm to perform a property assessment, the guilt from Thea over the sale of the farm threatened to put a halt to their progress.

Even though I enjoyed the previous book Bet Against Me, I like this even better. The couple’s chemistry is palpable; there is a freedom in the way they clicked and expressed their passion for each other. People meet and connect with every individual in different ways but when sexy times are written like this; where both parties are on the same level is truly satisfying. The relationship started physical, and stayed physical but it branched out to a deeper level as the story progressed.

5 stars. Some authors do bedroom scenes well. Fiona does it very well. For me, Lauren shone in the book, she was strong, determined but not infallible. Expect power play, reversal of roles from the first sex scene to the last, acceptance and love of family, great friendships and guest appearances from Fiona’s other books.

I just reviewed Bet The Farm by Fiona Riley. Thank you Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

This is book two of the High Stakes Romance series. Lauren Calloway, high end realtor with a wonderful group of friends with a lacking love life. Thea Boudreaux, administrator at a tech firm with some insecurity regarding the family business. It is difficult not to like any of the characters in this read. Everyone is so helpful and supportive. Just makes you want to be a part of the group. There is even softball.
The story line was very appropriate for what is occurring with small businesses today especially in small towns. I really felt for the Boudreaux family. The romance and sex scenes were smoking hot. And, let me not forget to make a comment about the flirting, wow!!

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This was cute. It wasn't a deep and mind-blowing read but something nice to spend a few hours reading. Havent read the first Bet book and you can easily read this on uts own. I did love the throw back connection to Hayley and Emerson from "Media Darling"

This book is about two driven professional women who only have time for an occasional one night tryst. Lauren isn’t real estate sales and Thea is in tech start up and development, they meet at a bar one night and immediately begin a sexual verbal foreplay that leads into a night of incredible erotic sex. The both women exchange phone numbers the next morning thinking they might hook up again in the future. Lauren is sent to Maine by her boss to try and figure out a solution that may save her bosses friends farm. Lauren and the farms owner we’re getting along very well talking about possible solutions went in walked the owners daughter who was furious and started yelling at the real estate sales person until she realized that it was the woman she recently hooked up with. Both Lauren and Thea were surprised to see one another and when Lauren explained she’s trying to help her mother save the farm Thea begin to relax a little. The two women reconnect and of course the sexual energy between the two of them is off the page and they can’t keep their hands off one another. As they grow closer together it becomes obvious Lauren can’t do much to save the farm and it goes on the market to see if they can find a buyer. At which point Thea is furious and tells Lauren she doesn’t love her and doesn’t want her in her life because she deceived her. And the heartbreak begins. How if ever are these two going to get back together?
Fiona Riley does such a great job not only in developing the story with two main characters that you can clearly identify with but she introduces several secondary characters that are really extra ordinary. Their involvement with the lead characters really moves the story along and add so much to it. Fiona Riley really developed an incredible plot for this story that made it become a page turner very quickly. In addition to the story having some incredible and tender love scenes between The two main characters, the way Riley writes , switching the point of view from each of the main characters is a style that I really like. This is an excellent book and when I highly recommend.

This book wasn't what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it.
The blurb is slightly misleading, but I think in this case it makes no difference. The story is still enjoyable, although predictable at times.

We've met Lauren in Fiona Riley's previous book in this series, Bet Against Me, Lauren was the quirky math whiz and best friend in that book. In this book, she is one of the mains and the mains from book one are secondary characters. Seeing that this is the second book in a series one might wonder if you need to read the first before reading this one. I'd say it isn't strictly necessary, you get a very short rundown of what went down in Bet Against Me and the glimpses in the life Trina and Kendall to understand most of it. But mostly this is a standalone story with characters showing up from a previous book. I enjoyed Bet Against Me so my advice is to read it, I am also a big believer in reading complete series (in chronological order) so there's that.

This story is a sweet (and hot) one-night stand to forever. I will never look at peaches the same way again, so thanks for putting that visual in my head. Thea is such a brooding sweetheart and Lauren is quirky and upbeat, they seem like a perfect fit. Lauren has been down on her luck a bit both personally and professionally when she hooks up with Thea at their favourite bar. Neither of them expected that their one hot night together would stir up feelings. Combine that with a special project for Lauren, that just happens to involve Thea's family's farm and you have some conflict and hotness all in one.

As mentioned the story is predictable, every twist and turn, the big drama, I could see it coming from pages away. I was oddly fine with it, it felt comfortable somehow. I also liked that the characters were thrown together from the beginning, do they move a little fast? For sure, but I don't get that insta-love vibe, mostly lust that turns into something more. Riley always writes great dialogues and it is no different in this one. I am all for the flirty banter, general banter, any banter really. But with the story being predictable, maybe even down to the dialogue, it felt repetitive at times. Lauren was already a favourite for me from the previous book and she remains in that place, Thea I am not so sure about, she is a bit too much of a smooth talker for me. While I am writing this I come to all these realisations that there are quite a couple of things that would normally annoy me in a book, but I enjoyed this one. I am genuinely confusing myself now so I am going to stop here 3.5 stars.

4.5 stars. This is the second book in the High Stakes Romance Series, while it can definitely be read as a stand alone. This book is my favorite so far in the series, although I see that we will be reading about Ellison’s story next, and this book laid down a little bit of a sneak peak in her story!

Thea’s family farm is struggling under mounds of debt and lack of workers to keep the farm afloat after the unexpected death of her father. Thea has never had the passion for the farm like her family has and chose to have a career in Boston.

You can always expect some steamy scenes from Fiona Riley and the ones in this book are super hot and probably my favorite she’s written so far! Aside from the amazing sex the characters have, the character development is written well. After a hiccup from one of the characters that causes a huge conflict between the two, I liked that they were able to communicate with each other in clear and healthy ways. This book puts a spotlight on how amazing small town communities are and will definitely make your heart smile!

Lauren Calloway works in a very successful real state agency, though she has not been very successful as of late. Deals keep falling short and her love life is non-existent. However, that changes the night she sees a sexy brunette at a bar. Thea Boudreaux fled her family farm after a tragedy but now she needs to come back and try to save the farm from being torn down to become a luxury development. The arrival of a real state consultant to the farm, who also happens to be the sexy one night stand she had back in the city might mean Thea might save the farm and get the girl, or will she lose both?

This was the second book in the series, although it reads as a stand alone. I definitely enjoyed this book a lot more than the last one. The chemistry was incredible, and their times together were as hilarious as they were sexy. This is a very entertaining and sweet read. Lauren was definitely my favourite character, she was so intelligent but humble, she was sexy but also incredibly sweet. Thea's mother was also a favourite. This book a very happy read, which will leave you with a smile on your face.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.